Jenny McCarthy's Son Doesn't Know He's Being Bullied: "They're Laughing at Him But He Laughs, Too"

"My son's main goal is to make as many friends as possible," the View co-host says of Evan Asher

By Zach Johnson Jul 21, 2014 6:05 PMTags
Jenny McCarthy, Donnie Wahlberg, EvanJennifer Cooper, E!

Is ignorance bliss? Jenny McCarthy isn't sure.

The View co-host revealed on-air Monday that her 12-year-old son, Evan Asher, is unaware that he's being bullied at summer camp. Because of his autism, she noted, he doesn't pick up on social queues.

"My son's main goal is to make as many friends as possible," McCarthy said. Sadly, the camp recently sent McCarthy an e-mail informing her that the tween's so-called "friends" are actually teasing him.

"They're laughing at him but he laughs, too," she said. "I said, 'You have to find the kids that like you and are nice to you. Who do you sit next to in the cafeteria?' And he said, 'No one. I ask, and they say no.'"

On the other hand, McCarthy is grateful Asher doesn't know what's happening. "It's so wonderful that he's not aware that kids are making fun of him. But at what point do I need to teach him that? Evan told me, 'They ask me to put bugs down my pants and I do it and they laugh.' He thinks it's funny," she said. "Do I just let him be? At what point does it stop? In high school they'll be like, 'Here, drink this?' 'Okay!'"

Whoopi Goldberg offered a suggestion. "Have Evan introduce you to his friends and when they're off having fun, have a conversation with the parents," the co-host said. "The parents might not be aware."

McCarthy is no stranger to bullying. During a 2010 appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, she recalled her own childhood traumas. In middle school, she said, "I would have girls wait for me outside of school with pipes to beat me up. They were picking on me because their boyfriends would look at me on the way home." She didn't tell her parents or teachers what happened out of fear that she would be seen as "weak." Things got "worse" in high school, as girls "were throwing pies at my face, pulling out my hair [and] spitting on me," she said. "The worst part was when they lit my hair on fire on the bus."

The TV personality became so terrified of her classmates that she often stayed home to hide from the bullies. "I literally got a call from my high school saying, 'If Jenny misses one more day of school, she's not gonna get her diploma' and my mom was like, 'You've gotta go," McCarthy said. "I was so terrified."